TITLE: SECOND WIVES
RATED: Late Teen
DISCLAIMER : I don't own The Princess Diaries, One Special Night or
Eloise or its characters and I don't make any money from this story.
Only the original characters, plots and ideas belong to me.
SUMMARY : Eloise / One Special Night /Princess Diaries crossover
story. "Second Husbands" sequel. In "Second Husbands" we saw Catherine and Robert
adjust to married life, Clarisse and Joseph move their relationship from "in the shadows"
to the light of day, and marry. We saw Nanny and Wilkes fall in love and marry... and all of them bonding as friends. All three women are happy and in love with their second husbands by the end.
In THIS story we learn that Robert was not the only one to have a first wife, and we follow the three couples as they navigate becoming grandparents, children's weddings, and of course misunderstandings and lots of fun!
Nanny and Wilkes have just bought the house across the lake from Catherine and Robert. Wilkes has just retired, as has Nanny, the year before. Eloise visits with her new nanny, Wilkes' niece Alexis, twice a month. Catherine and Robert are planning for Jocelyn's baby and enjoying their new remodeled cabin. Clarisse and Joseph, who are still in honeymoon mode, are working together in Genovia, and enjoying frequent trips to Connecticut to visit Catherine, Clarisse's twin sister.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a sequel to my story "Second Husbands".
Time-line:The story starts FIVE YEARS after "One Special
Night", and SIX MONTHS after "PD 2", Fall 2004. Which means I
could not stay true to "Eloise" and make it be the 1950s, it takes
place 2 YEARS after Eloise at Christmastime.
Second Wives
Chapter One
"You are going to love it here in the Fall Nanny. It is so unbelievably peaceful!", Catherine told her friend as they sipped their tea on the bench by the lake, watching the the orange/red leaves floating in the water.
"I 'ave no doubt. We already love it for sure, sure, sure!"
"It has been a crazy couple of months. This is going to be a nice relaxing Fall this year! I am looking forward to sharing it with you chum"
"Oh yes, me too! This is the first Fall that Wilkes and I 'ave been retired... and with the 'ouse, well, I am really really really looking forward to it. I can't wait to bake pies in my new kitchen and collect pine cones for crafts with Eloise"
"Absolutely. You will love it. The grandkids love making crafts with all the nature that is at our fingertips in the Fall. Eloise can join in this year with you"
" 'ow is Jocelyn feeling? Is she in 'er third trimester yet Love?"
"Oh no, still very much in her second. She is doing well. A bit uncomfortable, but healthy and I believe happy"
"Aoww. I am glad. It was such a lovely wedding out 'ere on the lake last month. Very romantic! All those candles in the evening air. The sun setting on the lake. The violinists..."
"Yes. Robert and I thought you might have been bitten by the romance bug", Catherine said with a chuckle, "You and Wilkes retired rather early that night as I recall"
"We were tired", Nanny said, looking straight ahead.
Catherine burst out laughing.
"What, what, what?!", Nanny asked, turning to her friend, unable to hide the broad smile on her face.
They both laughed then, and Nanny swotted Catherine's shoulder. Just then they heard a loud crash and both looked in the direction of Catherine and Robert's home.
"Damn it Wilkes! You have no outdoorsman skills whatsoever do you?!", they heard Robert say.
Catherine chuckled, "They are at it again!"
"My poor baby! Robert is always picking on Wilkes about his lack of... ruggedness. It's not 'is fault!"
"Oh, Robert doesn't mean it! You know that. Should we go run interference?"
"No, no, no. It might be good for 'im actually. I love my 'usband more then life itself. 'e's a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful man! An extraordinary 'usband, a wonderful lover, a devoted friend..."
"But?"
" 'e needs toughening up for Lord's sake!"
Catherine laughed, "Yes. I have noticed that the transition from living at The Plaza Hotel to living in the country in Connecticut was a lot easier on you then him"
"Well I was used to it! I grew up on a farm, but Wilkes! Well, its a big change for 'im. Poor Willie, 'e really is trying"
"He doesn't seem upset about it, just not very... um, talented, at country living"
" 'e loves the peacefulness. 'e just needs to learn 'ow to get 'is 'ands dirty is all, all, all"
"Exactly. It'll happen"
"For sure, sure, sure!"
Just then the shrubs to their left swayed, twigs snapped and through the path came Wilkes and Robert.
"Cath, I am going to need your help with the shed. Wilkes is no help"
"I think that is a bit unfair", Wilkes interjected, "I was doing a fine job holding that shutter in place while you hammered"
"You moved your thumb to the EXACT spot where I was hammering! Look at his thumb! It's twice it's normal size", Robert said, turning to the girls.
"Aoww, my poor baby!", Nanny said, looking at his thumb a couple of yards away.
"I will be fine sweetheart", Wilkes told her with a smile.
"Are you sure Love? Let me see it. Per'aps we should go put some ice on it"
Wilkes stepped over to his wife, but said "Tosh, tosh. Just a bit swollen... You look very beautiful this afternoon. If I may say, my love"
Nanny released his slightly swollen thumb which she had been looking over, "You just saw me two hours ago for Lord's sake! I just changed my blouse after collecting the eggs from the chickens", she said, blushing.
"Oh yes. I was supposed to do that wasn't I?"
"It's alright Love. I took care of it", Nanny said with a small smile.
"I'm a terrible farmer", Wilkes said to Catherine with a little laugh.
"Oh, you are not!", Catherine replied, not having the heart to tell him that indeed he was.
"He is actually! And he is an even worse carpenter! The thumb was just one of many mishaps", Robert interjected.
"He OFFERED to help you Robert!", Catherine said, embarrassed.
"Yeah, well... no offense Wilkes, but Michael would do a better job"
"Robert!", Catherine scolded.
"It's true! He's my best friend, but he is no good with his hands!"
"I would 'ave to disagree", Nanny replied, giving Wilkes a wink.
Wilkes blushed and smiled at the double meaning, as Robert rolled his eyes.
"It's alright. I am afraid he is right", Wilkes replied, slightly embarrassed.
"See, he knows he stinks at this kind of thing", Robert said, holding up his hammer.
"Robert!", Catherine hissed again.
"Alright, alright. Wilkes, thanks for the help, but I had better do it on my own"
"No problem. Perhaps after I get more practice..."
"Sure, sure", Robert replied, "Thanks. Really"
"You are welcome", Wilkes replied, sitting beside Nanny on the bench and taking her hand.
"Come on Catherine. Time to earn your keep"
"You are hilarious", Catherine said, getting up.
"She looks better in a tool belt too", Robert said to the other couple, who chuckled.
"Dirty old man", Catherine whispered.
"You love it", he teased her back, making her smile.
"I had better help the old man here Nanny. Thank you for the tea. We are still on for tomorrow night right? The four of us, dinner in the city?"
"Aoww, yes! We are looking forward to it!", Nanny replied.
"A much needed night out, after all this hard work at home", Wilkes added.
"Great. See you tomorrow evening at your place if not before", Robert said, taking his wife by the hand.
"Goodbye", Wilkes replied.
"See you tomorrow", Catherine said, before they left.
"It seems it is just you and I then", Wilkes said to his wife, as he leaned in to give her a little kiss.
"Thats 'ow I like it best!", she said, wrapping her arms up behind his neck.
"Indeed!", he said with a smile, "I, er, I am sorry I forgot about the chickens"
"It's fine, fine, fine Love! You will get used to our new life soon enough"
"I do love it here!"
"Oh yes, so do I Love!"
"How about we go back to the house and I light us a nice fire?"
"That sounds divine Love! Is it too early do you think, for a spot of wine as well?"
"Nonsense! Eloise and Alexis are not here this weekend... It's not too early for, er, anything"
Nanny gave him a cheeky smile, "Well, a couple of glasses of wine and a nice toasty fire might lead me to cash in on that Love"
"I'm counting on it", he said with own cheeky grin.
"Oh real real really?", she said, swatting him playfully.
"Let's go", he said, taking her hand.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Your majesty, Sir Joseph has arrived", Clarisse's assistant informed her, Kathleen was no Charlotte, but then who was.
"Thank you Kathleen", Clarisse replied, as she made her way through the ballroom to her husband.
"You look beautiful", Joseph commented, as she stopped in front of him, taking in her royal blue ball gown which fell off her shoulders.
"Thank you. You're late"
"I am aware, and I apologize", he said, kissing her cheek.
Her initial mild annoyance with her spouse subsided when she saw something in his eyes. Something was wrong.
"I received a call that I had to take. You know I usually enjoy arriving with you at events"
"Of course", she replied, searching his eyes, "Don't give it another thought"
"Shall we dance?", he asked, taking her hand before she could reply.
Once they were on the dance floor they danced flawlessly as they always did. Clarisse marveled at how she still enjoyed seeing people watching them, smiling. Their chemistry was really that apparent. However, soon her thoughts came back to Joseph's current state.
"What is the matter my darling?", she asked him quietly.
He pulled back slightly and looked into her eyes, giving her a little smile, "You know me too well", he said as his mouth went back to its position near her ear.
"The phone call?"
"Yes"
"Was is bad?"
"In a way, yes"
Clarisse pulled back and looked at him, she had stopped dancing.
"Not so bad that we should not have a nice evening", he said, scooping his arm around her waist and spinning her.
"Joseph..."
"We will deal with it tomorrow. Alright? Let's have a nice night", he said as he fanned his hand across her back.
She wanted to pursue what was troubling him, but she knew him well enough to know that when he was not ready to talk about something she would just have to wait. Her reward for her patience was the feel of his hand on her back, his breath on her neck. She had been away for three days, and had been so busy the two nights previous to that, that she had fallen into bed and gone right to sleep. He had been away on a hunting trip with Nicholas the two nights before that, which meant tonight was the first night in a week they would be going to bed together.
"I've missed you this week", she told him as they moved off the dance floor.
"That makes two of us", he said, as he waved away the guards and took her out onto the empty terris.
"We have not... made love in a week", she whispered to him, a blush on her face.
"I am aware, and I assure you by body yearns for you. I love you", he said, wrapping his arms around her.
"I love YOU", she replied, giving him a series of small lovely kisses.
"It's a beautiful night", he commented, "The sky is a lovely shade, wouldn't you say?"
"It certainly is", she replied, resting her head on his shoulder and peering out at the purple/blue evening sky.
"I could get lost in a sky like this", he said, looking at her, "Much like your eyes my love"
She smiled at him, "You Sir, are an incurable romantic!"
"I married the love of my life, whom I never thought I could have, just a matter of months ago. I am entitled"
"No argument here", she said, holding up her hands playfully.
He smiled at her, but became quite serious as he searched for the right words to convey what he wanted to tell her, "You do know... no matter what happens in the future.. no matter what happened in the past... I love you more than life itself"
"Of course I know that..."
"You may get angry with me and try to forget how much we love one another. Promise me you will never forget"
"Of course not Joseph", she said with a little laugh.
"Promise", he said, taking her face in his hands.
"I promise", she replied, her smile fading, "Does this have anything to do with this phone call?"
"From the first moment I saw you...", he said with a little smile, not answering her previous question, "I knew my life would never be the same"
"Joseph...", she started, but he cut her off with a lovely deep kiss.
Her mind and knees turned to jelly as he kissed her with passion that she was sure could never be rivaled by any other man. Her arms flew up around his neck as their tongues danced and their hand roamed in the moonlight. She knew they needed to discuss whatever had upset him so on this phone call, but at the moment she was not capable of coherent thought.
"Thirty minutes of mingling", she said, pulling away, "And then we are gong upstairs"
She wiped the lipstick from his mouth as he smiled at her, "Sounds like Mia's Birthday party from earlier this year all over again"
"Cheeky", she said, taking his arm as they slowly made their way back into the ball, "I am sure no one missed us that evening"
"It was fairly obvious that we had something, and we were not married. I was your employee and you the sitting Queen. We disappeared together... there was most certainly some talk, but that does no matter now"
They stood smiling at their guests, or Queen Amelia's guests to be more accurate, as they re-entered the ball.
"Thirty minutes", Clarisse whispered to him, as a member of parliament approached, "I will have a headache and your feet hurt"
Joseph nodded, with a small smile, as his wife was led onto the dance floor by the gentleman from parliament. He was glad they would have the night to themselves. He wanted one more night with her, where they could sip campaign, make love, cuddle and laugh together in bed. After tomorrow's revelation he was not sure how long it would be until they did that again.
TO BE CONTINUED...